MANILA: The US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines will maintain joint naval and air operations within the disputed South China Sea on Sunday, their defence chiefs stated in a press release, as they search to counter China’s rising assertiveness within the area.”Demonstrating our collective commitment to strengthen regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, our combined defense/armed forces will conduct a Maritime Cooperative Activity within the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone on April 7, 2024,” they stated in a joint assertion.The train shall be held within the disputed South China Sea — which Beijing claims nearly solely — days earlier than US President Joe Biden is because of maintain the primary trilateral summit with the leaders of the Philippines and Japan.Earlier this week, the Australian warship HMAS Warramunga arrived on the Philippine island province of Palawan, which faces the hotly contested waters.Regional tensions have escalated prior to now 12 months as China has develop into more and more assured in asserting its claims over waters additionally claimed by the Philippines and Japan, in addition to over self-ruled Taiwan.In response, the US has sought to strengthen its alliances within the area, together with with treaty allies Japan and the Philippines.
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